Curious Case of the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
by Sehrezad
Summary: It was written for the NCIS, the Musical! Challenge on the NFA Community Forum. That's my first crackfic. There's the team in the story, there's a case... and a lot of singing. I divided it into two chapters, maybe it makes it easier to read Have fun!
1. Chapter 1

**The Curious Case of the ****Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat**

_Summary: The NCIS team is called out to a case… Joseph's eleven brothers claim that he was torn apart by a lion in the desert… but something doesn't sit quite right with the case… maybe the fact that the corpse wasn't recovered…or maybe something else… the music, perhaps… nah…_

_Written for the NCIS, the Musical! Challenge on the NFA Community Forum_

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything connecting to the show NCIS and I don't own the musicals quoted in the story.__ They all belong to their respective owners. (quotations are in Italics)_

Musicals quoted:_Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat_, _Chicago_, _Cats_, _Aida_, _Wicked_, _Oklahoma_, _Mary Poppins_, _Avenue Q_

_I owe a huge "thank you" to my amazing friend, Zivacentric, who made the beta-reading for this story and even after reading it, she still talks to me. :-D Thank you, my friend!_

* * *

The NCIS truck screeched to a halt in front of a remote farm house and Special Agent Ziva David jumped out from behind the wheel with a satisfied grin on her face. Never mind the fact that she'd just arrived to a crime scene… The other two agents exited the truck with more somber expressions on their faces. Well, Special Agent Timothy McGee looked too sick to sport a cheerful countenance and Special Agent Antony DiNozzo was too occupied with his presumably injured knee (which, on the way to the crime scene, bumped into the dashboard on more occasion than he dared to count) to even crack a smile.

Gibbs had already arrived at the crime scene and was impatiently waiting for his team to arrive. He was annoyed, too. But nothing outstanding; just the usual. In the midst of his annoyance, he even took his time to observe the scenery… after all it was not everyday that one had the opportunity to visit the desert of Washington DC, which, he noticed with a look of disappointment, looked rather artificial. But he quite felt like singing, nonetheless. And, after grabbing his NCIS cap into his hand, he did just that, all the while moving animatedly around the yard.

"_There's a bright, golden haze on the meadow  
There's a bright, golden haze on the meadow.  
The corn is as high as an elephant's eye  
And it looks like it's climbing clear up to the sky._

__

Oh, what a beautiful Mornin'  
Oh, what a beautiful day.  
I've got a beautiful feelin'  
Everything's goin' my way.

_All the cattle are standin' like statues  
All the cattle are standin' like statues…"_

He petted one or two plastic sheep as he went by with bouncing steps. Either he didn't really care about the lack of cattle or he just couldn't say the difference… Either way he was the perfect embodiment of human contentment at that moment.

"_They don't turn their heads as they see me ride by  
But a little brown mav'rick is winkin' her eye_

_Oh, what a beautiful Mornin'  
Oh, what a beautiful day.  
I've got a beautiful feelin'  
Everything's goin' my way…_"

While Gibbs was busy singing, pretending that he was a Midwestern rancher, his team stopped to look at him with wide eyes. Well, more like McGee was watching him with eyes as big as whole Oklahoma while Ziva tried in vain not to laugh at her boss and Tony wore an unashamed grin. Gibbs finally noticed them and turned to his team. Well, he wasn't a happy camper anymore…

"Happy you finally decided to join me." He looked at his team pointedly and he was just about to assign the jobs when Ducky ducked under the crime-scene tape and gave the whole group a humorous smile. It seemed very much that today not even a dead body could spoil those people's good mood. What a beautiful morning indeed!

"_Welcome. Ladies and Gentlemen, you are about to see a story of__murder, greed, corruption, violence, exploitation, adultery,__and treachery - all those things we all hold near and dear to__our hearts. Thank you._" He told in the tone of an announcer while he was chuckling to himself. Gibbs didn't find it all that funny, though. But the rest of the team snickered at the theatrical performance of the old ME.

To avoid any further interruption, Gibbs quickly barked his orders then everybody went on their way… leaving the Medical Examiner standing puzzled where he was. And his puzzlement wasn't due to the fact that Jimmy Palmer was running up and down in the background chased by a very enthusiastic she-goat… a plastic she-goat! He didn't see that… actually, he didn't see anything.

"Hmm… Jethro." After looking around once or twice, just to make sure, he called after the team leader. "If you don't mind my asking, where is the body?"

"We don't have one, Duck." Gibbs stated matter-of-factly then went to join Ziva, who had begun to interview the witnesses. Ducky just shrugged then turned and went back to his truck. Well, no body, no worry. And anyway, that all too bright yellow color of the artificial sand began to hurt his eyes.

* * *

"So you say that your brother fell into this well?" Ziva furrowed her brows in confusion while she jotted down the information. She looked up at the men standing in front of her, questioningly when she couldn't hear anybody answering her question. "Well?" She asked the men, who suddenly found their sandals – because they did wear sandals – fascinating. The truth was that the female agent found them fascinating, too… in a weird and completely comic kind of way. Who the hell wears sandals and kaftans anyway?

"Not exactly…" Finally one of them spoke up and suddenly ten pairs of eyes stared at him warningly.

"Not exactly?" Gibbs joined the little group of eleven brothers and his agent. The man, who dared to speak, looked at his brothers a little baffled – we have to admit that he wasn't from the brightest ones – then his eyes lit up and turned back to the agents.

"Actually, he was eaten by a beast… a beast that big…" He indicated with his wide spread arms while his face took up an incredibly stupid expression. Suddenly the warning look disappeared from the brothers' eyes and they were quick to nod in agreement. Ziva looked at them amused while Gibbs just raised an eyebrow.

"What kind of beast?" He asked and after a little discussion, the brothers were quite certain that it had been a lion. Well, it surely did come a long way, Ziva muttered under her breath. Gibbs smirked. The men even had an old battered coat covered in blood to prove that their youngest brother was indeed attacked by a lion.

Their interview was suddenly interrupted by loud and happy chatting and when the two agents turned, they could see a group of women approaching with an old man in the middle. The man, who looked impossibly old even for Gibbs, stopped in front of them with an air that commanded respect while the brothers ran up to the women crying the different forms of "mother", completely forgetting about any kind of self-respect.

"Would you care to explain me this whole commission here?" The old man asked Gibbs but his eyes were definitely on Ziva. "You have the intention to give your daughter into marriage?" He asked with all seriousness, still regarding Ziva with critical eyes. Gibbs blinked, not really understanding the question while Ziva gapped in surprise. Did he really ask what she had heard him ask? "Well, I would certainly be happy to have her as my wife." He winked at Ziva then gave her a lustful grin, which made his yellow and black teeth visible. At least those few ones that he still had. "Are you a virgin, my dear?"

"Alright…" Gibbs finally stepped up, effectively preventing the Israeli woman from reacting in any kind of way to that question. "Sir… we are here to investigate."

"Investigate what?" At that, one of the man's sons stepped up to his father with a grave expression while the others began to whistle behind him. Whistle, really? Ziva frowned and looked at Gibbs, who just shrugged. Then the man began to sing.

"_Father we've something to tell you, a story of our time__  
__A tragic but inspiring tale of manhood in its prime__  
__You know you had a dozen sons -__  
__Well now that's not quite true__  
__But feel no sorrow, do not grieve,__  
__He would not want you to__._"

While the man sang, with the back-up of his brothers, McGee and DiNozzo had also joined them. McGee began to beat the rhythm of the song with his feet while Tony looked on completely enjoying the performance.

"_There's one more angel in heaven__  
__There's one more star in the sky__  
__Joseph we'll never forget you__  
__It's tough but we're gonna get by__  
__There's one less place at our table__  
__There's one more tear in my eye_

_But Joseph the things that you stood for__  
__Like peace and love never die__  
__When I think of his last great battle__  
__A lump comes to my throat__  
__It takes a man who knows no fear__  
__To wrestle with a goat..._"

"Did he just say goat?" Ziva turned to Gibbs questioningly. She could swear that the goat was not another word for lion.

"I don't think he knows the different between goat and lion, Ziver." Gibbs answered and Ziva nodded. True enough.

"_His blood-stained coat is tribute to__  
__His final sacrifice__  
__His body may be past its peak__  
__But his soul's in paradise_

_There's one less place at our table__  
__There's one more tear in my eye_

_But Joseph the things that you stood for__  
__Like truth and light never die__  
__Carve his name with pride and courage__  
__Let no tear be shed__  
__If he had not laid down his life__  
__We all would now be dead._"

As the final chords of the song died away, the members of the grieving family – the very old father, the eleven brothers and the many-many mothers – were embracing each other crying over their loss in the shadows of a huge plastic cactus.

Gibbs suspected that there would be no further useful information gained from that bunch of singing lunatics so they geared up and started off back to the Navy Yard.

* * *

After they arrived back to the Navy Yard and the evidence was handed over to Abby, Gibbs disappeared as per usual and left his agents on their own devices. Well, he certainly expected them to work on the case… however, the three experienced agents were doing anything but that. McGee was excitedly chatting away with Abby while Tony was reading… well, not his usual literature. Ziva noticed that, too, and, after throwing a suspicious glance in his direction, she stood up and walked up behind him.

"What are you reading, Tony?" She asked in a deep voice leaning close to his ear and making the other agent jump.

"Nothing." Tony replied and quickly closed the book. But he was not quick enough to hide the title on the cover. Ziva laughed.

"Are you reading the Bible?" She asked in disbelief.

"Yeah." Tony shrugged and looked up at the woman. "Maybe you should read it, too. You could learn one or two things from Moses." He quipped. With a smug smile, Ziva walked back to her desk and lifted up the book that was lying on it. Tony looked at the Hebrew version of the Old Testament with a frown.

"I hope you have more than the Bible in two languages." Gibbs stormed into the squad room with coffee in hand and sat down to his desk.

"I have the Qur'an, too." Ziva supplied while she lined up with the others in front of the team leader's desk. Gibbs gave her a pointed look but then Tony demanded his attention with his impatient bouncing.

"I've found something, Boss." He informed the older man eagerly while Ziva gave him a dirty look then stepped in front of him all but pushing him backwards.

"I have found something, too." And without waiting for any reaction, she put the Old Testament in front of Gibbs while the lights in the squad room dimmed and only Ziva remained in light. Gentle tunes could be heard and the male agents watched on as Ziva began her presentation… singing.

"_Some folks dream of the wonders they'll do__  
__Before their time on this planet is through__  
__Some just don't have anything planned__  
__They hide their hopes and their heads in the sand__  
__Now I don't say who is wrong, who is right__  
__But if by chance you are here for the night__  
__Then all I need is an hour or two__  
__To tell the tale of a dreamer like you__  
__We all dream a lot - some are lucky, some are not__  
__But if you think it, want it, dream it, then it's real__  
__You are what you feel__._

_But all that I say can be told another way_…"

"Damn right, it can be." The music abruptly stopped as Tony chimed in annoyed that Ziva had elbowed her way in front of him. "…and in a much more interesting way, I must add. You almost made us fall asleep, Zeevah." Ziva shrugged and went back to her desk where she sat down sulking. All the while, the squad room filled with colourful lights and Tony started his account enthusiastically.

"_Way way back many centuries ago,__  
__Not long after the Bible began__  
__Jacob lived in the land of Canaan,__  
__A fine example of a family man.__  
__Jacob, Jacob and sons,__  
__Depended on farming to earn their keep.__  
__Jacob, Jacob and sons,__  
__Spent all of his days in the fields with sheep.__  
__Jacob was the founder of a whole new nation__  
__Thanks to the number of children he had__  
__He was also known as Israel, but most of the time__  
__His sons and his wives used to call him Dad.__  
__Jacob, Jacob and sons,__  
__Men of the soil, of the sheaf and crook__  
__Jacob, Jacob and sons,__  
__A remarkable family in anyone's book._

_Reuben was the eldest of the children of Israel__  
__With Simeon and Levi the next in line__  
__Naphtali and Isaachar with Asher and Dan__  
__Zebulun and Gad took the total to nine__  
__Jacob, Jacob and sons,__  
__Benjamin and Judah, which leaves only one__  
__Jacob, Jacob and sons…"__  
_

By the time he finished, half of the squad room had been standing behind him supplying the chorus. Gibbs actually smirked at his agent's performance, which McGee enjoyed with unveiled amazement. Ziva just scoffed in her chair, not at all amused.

"So…" Gibbs began after everybody settled down and all was in the squad room as every ordinary day. "You say that this case can be a copycat of Joseph's story in the Bible." Gibbs concluded and Tony nodded.

"And the Qur'an." Ziva added huffing, really wanting to add something extra to the case, however insignificant that detail might be. But she was promptly ignored.

Gibbs then turned to his third agent, who, apart from humming the tunes with Tony, had been very silent. He stared at the young agent until McGee realized that he should really add something. Aware of the fact that he couldn't really share the juicy details of his private conversation with Abby, with which he had spent all of his time and which was all he could show for his activity, he began to stutter something about the Bible and stories then slowly he managed to find the proper tune and actually making sense at the same time.

"_Every story, tale or memoir__  
__Every saga or romance__  
__Whether true or fabricated__  
__Whether planned or happenstance_

_Whether sweeping through the ages__  
__Casting centuries aside__  
__Or a hurried brief recital__  
__Just a thirty-minute ride_

_Whether bright or melancholy__  
__Rough and ready, finely spun__  
__Whether with a thousand players__  
__Or a lonely cast of one_

_Every story, new or ancient__  
__Bagatelle or work of art__  
__All are tales of human failing__  
__All are tales of love at heart…_"_  
_

At this point, he gathered all of his confidence and jumped up from his chair truly letting his voice out. Tony watched on a little scared while Gibbs just shook his head. Ziva was so caught up in the performance that she had actually forgot about sulking and watched McGee with awe as he continued on.

"_This is the story__  
__Of a love that flourished__  
__In a time of hate_

_Of lovers no tyranny could separate__  
__Love set into motion on the Nile's shore__  
__Destiny ignited by an act of war_

_Egypt saw the mighty river as its very heart and soul__  
__Source of life for all her people__  
__That only Egypt could control__  
__Destruction of her southern neighbour justified__  
__Nubia exploited, left with little more than pride._"

"Congratulations, McGenius." Tony spoke up mockingly while McGee smoothed the lapels of his jacket and sat down. "That was really great but it's relevant in our case because…"

"Well… uh…" Yes, McGee was completely aware of the irrelevancy of his little aria. "You see… Nubia is close to Egypt… and the story of Joseph ends in… Egypt… and…" Ziva chuckled at her friend's reasoning but suddenly Gibbs didn't know who to strangle… McGee or himself…

"Yeah. But not our story." Tony pointed out.

"Actually, yes." Abby burst in all bouncy and everything. "But first thing's first. Do you know what this case reminds me of?" She asked cheerfully and almost instantly she opened her mouth to continue… but, seeing the Bible in her hands and really not wanting to hear a repeated performance, Gibbs stopped her.

"Don't even think about it, Abs." He warned the happy Goth who closed her mouth pouting. "What did you find?" Abby cheered up almost instantly.

"You remember that fibre Tony found in the well? Well, I identified it and it's from a very expensive tailored coat. Here." She grabbed the remote control and the image of a coat appeared on the screen. Looking at the image, all of the agents stood up and walked up to the plasma by Gibbs' desk.

"Is this...?" Ziva asked not taking her eyes off of the screen. Abby nodded.

"Wow." That was all McGee could add. Well, he wasn't really productive that day.

"Yeah, I know." Tony reacted with a frown. "Who would even think about wearing a thing like that? It's just..."

"Colourful?" Ziva supplied.

"Like a rainbow." Abby looked at the coat as if under a spell.

"Abs?" Gibbs began to feel that he was missing something.

"Come on, Gibbs. You don't know the story?" Abby looked at the man as if he had been a green alien. Seeing Gibbs' look, Abby rolled her eyes and, once again, music could be heard as Abby began to explain the significance of the coat.

"_Jacob wanted to show the world he loved his son__  
__To make it clear that Joseph was the special one__  
__So Jacob bought his son a coat__  
__A multi-coloured coat to wear__._"

Here both Tony and Ziva joined Abby in her relating the story.

"_Joseph's coat was elegant,__  
__The cut was fine__  
__The tasteful style was the__  
__Ultimate in good design__  
__And this is why it caught the eye__  
__A king would stop and stare__._"

Here Abby took over for a couple of lines.

"_And when Joseph tried it on__  
__He knew his sheepskin days were gone__._"

This time McGee stood up, too, to join the chorus.

"_Such a dazzling coat of many colours__  
__How he loved his coat of many colours__._"

Abby continued.

"_In a class above the rest__  
__It even went well with his vest__  
__Such a stunning coat of many colours__  
__How he loved his coat of many colours__  
__It was red and yellow and green and__  
__Brown and blue__  
__Joseph's brothers weren't__  
__Too pleased with what they saw__._"

Once again, the whole squad room gathered around Team Gibbs, some of them assuming the role of the brothers while McGee had been pushed in front to play Joseph.

"_We have never liked him__  
__All that much before__  
__And now this coat__  
__Has got our goat__  
__We feel life is unfair_

_And when Joseph graced the scene__  
__His brothers turned a shade of green__  
__His astounding clothing took the biscuit_

_Quite the smoothest person in the district_

_I look handsome, I look smart__  
__I am walking work of art__  
__Such a dazzling coat of colours__  
__How I love my coat of many colours_

_It was red and yellow and green and brown__  
__And scarlet and black and ochre and peach__  
__And ruby and olive and violet and fawn__  
__And lilac and gold and chocolate and mauve__  
__And cream and crimson and silver and rose__  
__And azure and lemon and russet and grey__  
__And purple and white and pink and orange…"__  
_

As the music died away, Team Gibbs stood in front of the team leader with flushed faces and huge grins. Gibbs sighed.

"If this murder is really a copycat of the Bible story then we have a problem placing the coat into it." He pointed out. Now, he wasn't a really religious man but he could state with conviction that the Bible didn't say anything about a rainbow coloured coat.

"That's not the point, Gibbs." Abby whined then jumped a little as if she was preparing to say something big. "Our victim is alive and well, by the way. That blood on the coat the brothers gave us, it wasn't his. Cool, just like in the Bible." Abby was really excited. "Oh, and Joseph is in Egypt." She beamed while the others looked at her in disbelief.

"You are kidding, yes?" Ziva asked but Abby just shook her head. The Israeli woman just hoped that the man wasn't playing the Pharaoh's first man. Now that would be just weird, she thought.

"How on Earth could he get from a well in DC into Egypt?" Gibbs asked the forensic specialist.

"I may be able to answer that question." Abby was cut short even before she could have answered the question. All eyes turned to the man who had just entered from stage left...

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**The Curious Case of the****Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat**

_"I may be able to answer that question." Abby was cut short even before she could have answered the question. All eyes turned to the man who had just entered from stage left..._

_

* * *

_

"Fornell?" Gibbs asked with raised eyebrows while Tony groaned in the background. Not again, he muttered while Abby and McGee exchanged excited looks. Now that would be fun!

In the middle of the squad room, the two older men stepped up to face each other with narrowed eyes which were filled with open challenge. Ziva watched on with twisted fascination, a small smile playing on her lips. After a little while Tony also began to find the scene very interesting – after all, who would not find the weekly battle of NCIS and FBI entertaining – and walked up between Abby and McGee, placing his arms around their shoulder.

"You know they're reminding me of two pissed off little pet dogs who are just about to jump at each other's throat." And with that he started his little tale.

"_The Pekes and the Pollicles, as everyone knows.  
Are proud and implacable passionate foes  
It is always the same, wherever one goes  
And the Pugs and the Poms, although most people say  
That they do not like fighting, yet once in a way,  
They will now and again join in to the fray_

_And they..._" Tony signed for the others to join, which they did.

"_Bark bark bark bark  
Bark bark BARK BARK!_"

"_Until you can hear them all over the park_

_Now on the occasion of which I shall speak  
Almost nothing had happened for nearly a week  
(And that's a long time for a Pol or a Peke)  
The big Police Dog was away from his beat-  
I don't know the reason, but most people think  
He'd slipped into the Wellington Arms for a drink-  
And no one at all was about on the street  
When a Peke and a Pollicle happened to meet  
They did not advance, or exactly retreat,  
But they glared at each other, and scraped their hind feet,_

_And started to..._"

"_Bark bark bark bark  
Bark bark BARK BARK!_"

"_Until you could hear them all over the park_

_Now the Peke, although people may say what they please  
Is no British Dog, but a heathen Chinese  
And so all the Pekes, when they heard the uproar  
Some came to the window, some came to the door  
There were surely a dozen, more likely a score  
And together they started to grumble and wheeze  
In their huffery-snuffery heathen Chinese  
But a terrible din is what Pollicles like  
For your Pollicle Dog is a dour Yorkshire tyke,  
And is braw Scottish cousins are snappers and biters,  
And every dog-jack of them notable fighters;  
And so they stepped out, with their pipers in order,  
Playing When the Blue Bonnets Came Over the Border  
Then the Pugs and the Poms held no longer aloof,  
But some from the balcony, some from the roof,  
Joined in to the din  
With a..._"

"_Bark bark bark bark  
Bark bark BARK BARK!_"

"_Until you could hear them all over the park._" Tony concluded looking over the squad room grinning satisfied when he saw that almost every agent had taken up their places barking enthusiastically in favour of either the FBI or the NCIS.

"_Now when these bold heroes together assembled,  
The traffic all stopped, and the Underground trembled,  
And some of the neighbors were so much afraid  
That they started to ring up the Fire Brigade_

_When suddenly, up from a small basement flat,  
Why who should stalk out but THE GREAT RUMPUSCAT!_"

And promptly Director Vance appeared from the direction of the stairs. His eyes were throwing daggers at the commission that gathered in the squad room. He was really getting tired of Gibbs and Fornell's little dogs-and-cats game... or Pugs-and-Poms game. For a moment he wondered which one was who...

"_His eyes were like fireballs fearfully blazing,  
He gave a great yawn, and his jaws were amazing;  
And when he looked through the bars of the area  
You never saw anything fiercer or hairier  
And what with the glare of his eyes and his yawning  
The Pekes and the Pollicles quickly took warning  
He looked at the sky and he gave a great leap-  
And they every last one of them scattered like sheep_

_And when the Police Dog returned to his beat,  
There wasn't a single one left in the street._"

"Break it up, gentlemen." The Director stepped up to the two older agents, who were still staring at each other. "Gibbs, I think you have a case to solve and you, Fornell, I assume you came here to help."

"No, Leon." Gibbs shook his head smirking knowingly. "He came here to ask our help in solving HIS case. What did you screw up this time, Tobias?" Fornell sighed then looked up at the screen which was still showing the colorful coat.

"That coat, Jethro…" The FBI agent walked up to the screen. "We've been looking for it for ages. A few years back we got the word that an old farmer, Jacob had it so we sent an undercover agent to make sure of the accuracy of that information… and if possible, get that damn coat back."

"Joseph is an agent of yours?" Gibbs asked incredulously. Fornell nodded and the others looked on interested. "But that ridiculously old man claimed him to be his son."

"He was deep undercover." Fornell explained and everybody nodded. That definitely explained it. "Jacob, the farmer, has just given him that coat as a present and we were about to pull Joseph out when those eleven idiots out there on the farm decided that they'd get rid of him. Those jealous clowns screwed up my whole operation."

"But Joseph is alive." Ziva stated, not really understanding the problem here. "We bring in the brothers for attempted killing, and if the story of the Bible really applies, for human trafficking, then everything is solved."

"If only that were so easy, Agent David." Fornell looked at the female agent solemnly. "But, as it turned out, Joseph has a hidden agenda." He looked around the agents who were waiting for him to explain the situation for them. "You see, he met an Ethiopian princess on a sea cruiser last year and he fell in love with her. It just happens that the princess was to marry an Egyptian guy and Joseph, being the hero he is – that stupid son of a bitch – came up with the idea of using that coat to bargain for the hand of the princess. A real fairy-tale, isn't it? That's just my luck…" Fornell shook his head sadly then sighed. "I should have seen this coming… damn, I worked on this for years…

_How did I come to this?  
How did I slip and fall?  
How did I throw half a lifetime away  
Without any thought at all?_

_This should have been my time  
It's over, it never began  
I closed my eyes to so much for so long  
and I no longer can_

_I try to blame it on fortune  
Some kind of shift in a star  
But I know the truth and it haunts me  
it's flown just a little too far  
I know the truth and it mocks me  
I know the truth and it shocks me  
It's flown just a little too far…_"

"Alright, Tobias, we get it." By that time the FBI agent's eyes had been filled with tears. "You screwed up. But you're lucky to have us here." His tone was clearly mocking. "We'll find your amazing Technicolor dreamcoat." Gibbs put his hand on Fornell's shoulder in pretended sympathy while the rest of his team was, not so subtly, snickering in the background.

"Alright people, back to work." Vance cried happily and, after everybody – even Gibbs – jumped and did as they were told, he went back up the stairs with dignified steps and with a self-satisfied grin on his face. As he took one step after the other, music could be heard, and when he reached the top, he turned and leant against the railing observing his "kingdom" then, when it was his cue, he began to sing.

_I never asked for this  
Or planned it in advance  
I was merely blown here  
By the winds of chance  
I never saw myself  
As a Solomon or Socrates  
I knew who I was:  
One of your dime a dozen  
Mediocrities_

_Then suddenly I'm here  
Respected - worshipped, even…_"

But back to the others…

Down in the squad room Team Gibbs and Agent Fornell had returned to their case quite baffled. Basically, they had a deserter FBI agent, who had gone to Egypt to rescue his Nubian princess, who was about to get mar… Suddenly Ziva's hearty laugh broke the silence of the room… and it wasn't because she saw Director Vance dancing on the catwalk… no one really paid attention to him.

"You are kidding me, right?" She looked at Fornell with twinkling eyes. "The Nubian princess is called Aida?" She raised an eyebrow trying not to burst out laughing again. Fornell nodded and Tony laughed up.

"Well, I think our Probie got it right, after all, and we'll need more than a Bible… or three." He looked at Gibbs' desk where all the Scriptures were piled up.

"Yes, we definitely need to find Joseph, don't you think, DiNozzo?" Gibbs looked at his Senior Filed Agent annoyed.

"Good point, Boss." Tony answered the kept looking at Gibbs, just like everybody else.

"Then what are you waiting for?" He asked and his agents quickly turned back to their computers and began to type furiously. Gibbs turned back to Fornell with a satisfied smirk. Fornell just shook his head.

It was all silent in the squad room for a while, with all the agents concentrating on finding Joseph – even Vance stopped singing – but for once the elevator pinged and Jimmy Palmer appeared in front of the team. He looked slightly embarrassed, but then again, when does that boy not seem embarrassed?

"_I'm not wearing underwear today..._" He began singing as he stood between Ziva and Tony's desk. Ziva's head snapped up instantly and looked at the ME assistant with furrowed brows.

"_No I'm not wearing underwear today  
Not that you probably care  
Much about my underwear..._"

For a while Tony tried to block out the boy's words but he couldn't bear it any longer. He looked at Palmer disgusted. But really, who the hell wanted to know what Palmer wore... or what did not wear?

"_Still none the less I gotta say  
That I'm not wearing underwear today._"

With that Palmer left and the agents couldn't do anything but stare after him. Well, Ziva had gotten really curious and looked at the boy's butt with an arched eyebrow as she chewed on the end of her pencil…

But little did any of them know that Ducky and his young assistant, in lack of any body to examine, were so bored down in Autopsy that they had begun to play truth or dare.

Suddenly, getting bored of waiting, Gibbs jumped up from his chair.

"Alright people, talk to me." While usually everybody would just jump up and talk at the same time, now all of the agents remained seated and looked at the team leader sheepishly. "What?" Gibbs asked them frustrated.

"Hmm… Boss… the thing is that Joseph had disappeared from the surface of Earth." McGee spoke up timidly. "I can't find a phone number or an e-mail account to trace. He has no credit cards… no car… he doesn't even have a Facebook account…"

"Who doesn't have a Facebook account?" Tony asked unable to comprehend this information. Gibbs looked at him annoyed and the agent quickly straightened in his seat. "I mean… uhm… it's not a bad thing or un-cool… it's pretty cool, actually, Boss… I mean not to have a Facebook account… it's cool…" Ziva giggled across Tony then turned to Gibbs.

"You know, Gibbs... in Mossad we had a saying… Anything can happen. Yes…" A dreamy smile appeared on the ex-Mossad officer's face. "My father always said:

_Anything can happen if you let it; sometimes things are difficult but you can bet it doesn't have to be; some..._"

Here McGee chimed in with a smiling face.

"_...changes can be made._"

Tony, picking up the line of thought, also joined in.

"_You can move a mountain if you use a larger spade._"

By that time Ziva was clearly beaming. She couldn't even sit any longer.

"_Anything can happen; it's a marvel._"

Suddenly Tony was on the top of his desk with arms wide open like wings.

"_You can be a butterfly._"

"_Or just stay larval._" McGee added with a boyish grin. Tony frowned at the image. However, he continued singing the next line together with McGee.

"_Stretch your mind beyond fantastic; dreams are made of strong elastic_."

"_Take some sound advice and don't forget it._" Ziva turned to the two older men.

"_Anything can happen if you let it._" And this time Fornell joined the two younger agents then he added with a contemplating expression:

"..._I wonder..._"

"Alright, alright, alright..." Gibbs quickly interrupted the singing agents. "I get it. The best we can do is that we don't look for Joseph and this way he'll just show up... huh? How is that for a plan?" He clearly didn't believe in that strange Mossad "lay-back-and-wait-for-it-to-happen" technique but then the elevator chimed and a man walked up to the group of special agents.

"I can't believe it. The Mossad technique is working." Tony said in awe as he took in the man's appearance. On the top he was wearing, well… he wasn't wearing anything and his hips were only covered in a white piece of cloth which left most of his legs bare. On his feet he was wearing some goldish sandals and his head was covered in a ridiculous shining… something. Oh, and his eyes were lined out with black eyeliner.

"You are Joseph, yes?" Ziva was quickly in front of the man but in stead of looking into his eyes, her eyes were trained on the man's well toned chest. She couldn't help the lustful smile that appeared on her face as she practically drooled over the man.

"Yes." Joseph squirmed uncomfortably under the Israeli woman's insistent gaze.

"Where the hell you've been, son?" Fornell came forward with an angry stare but Joseph seemed unfazed by it, so Fornell continued. "You had a mission, damn it, and it certainly didn't contain running after some Nubian skirt." Joseph still didn't show any sign of remorse, he just simply closed his eyes calmly while suddenly children ran into the squad room and sat down among the agents.

"_I closed my eyes, drew back the curtain  
To see for certain what I thought I knew  
Far far away, someone was weeping  
But the world was sleeping  
Any dream will do_

_I wore my coat, with golden lining  
Bright colours shining, wonderful and new  
And in the east, the dawn was breaking  
And the world was waking  
Any dream will do_

_A crash of drums, a flash of light  
My golden coat flew out of sight  
The colours faded into darkness  
I was left alone_

_May I return to the beginning  
The light is dimming, and the dream is too  
The world and I, we are still waiting  
Still hesitating  
Any dream will do._"

"Great." Tony muttered not understanding a word from what Joseph had just said. "The guy likes riddles. What next? He begins babbling about cows and corns and starts?"

"What happened?" Fornell inquired. "And where is the coat?"

"Well, Agent Fornell, the thing is that the coat is still in Egypt… or in Ethiopia… no, in Egypt… Damn, I'm quite confused. You see, I gave it to Aida then her fiancé took it from her and locked her into a cave… I wanted to help her escape but she said that she was alright with dying so I didn't press the subject… but I'm really sorry that I lost the coat, Agent Fornell."

"Well, sorry won't even begin to cover it after the IA Department is finished with you." The NCIS agents winced collectively at that. Nobody liked to be investigated by the IA Department. "Well, Jethro…" Fornell turned to his friend. "I'd say that thank you for the help but you really hadn't done anything… so… next week?"

"Don't even think about it, Tobias." Vance called to the FBI agent from above then turned and left. If one leaves it to the FBI, next week they'd end up investigating the case of a green wicked witch who was sprawled under a stray house from Kansas…

Fornell just rolled his eyes then left with Joseph in tow. The NCIS agents just stared after them until the elevator doors closed… and they continued staring even after that. Slowly a frown appeared on their faces as something occurred to all of them. Something was quite strange with that case…

"I didn't understand one thing, though." Ziva voiced her confusion. "Why were we called in if there was not any Marine or Sailor involved?" At that the men began nodding as if contemplating their answers… they were thinking about that exact same thing…

"I have no idea." Gibbs shrugged then turned to sit down by his desk. The younger agents followed suit and started off to take their seats. Hardly had their butts reached the chairs when Ducky appeared in the squad room humming to himself.

"I don't know about you, my friends, but I just feel like singing…" The agents' heads suddenly snapped up and they looked at the old ME as if had gone insane.

**THE END**

_Thanks for reading!_


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